If I knew you'd return at sunset,
I'd only exist after dusk -
Neither present, nor quite absent-
Until I am revived by your touch.
If I knew you'd return in the winter,
I'd forget that the summer exists;
I'd keep warm with hope's splinter
That lodged itself in my bleeding wrist.
If I knew you'd return when it's dark,
I'd never again put the lights on;
The candle would send its last spark
And the night would constrict like a python.
If I knew you'd return when I'm asleep
I'd refuse to be awoken.
In my dreams, perched on a cliff
I'd wait for you till I'm frozen.
If I knew you'd return when I'm gone,
I'd give up my very existence,
So long as my departure falls on
The day of your re-appearance.
Copyright: Nara Hodge 2017
